Bin Laden confirmed killed: Questions and commentary

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1 Response

  1. Cat says:

    Want to address your response on a few levels (and I use too many words, why I’m not a successful blogger):
    “national security”…that’s a rabbit hole that we’ve gone & can never be filled in (also see all government entitlement programs). The unfortunate thing about government is that once programs are started it is impossible to end them or downsize (mainly because of public opinion when people lose their jobs, etc).

    My next is as a victim of violence. My cousin was brutally murdered in a house on my aunt & uncles property. Her killer remains unfound. It was not a crime of randomness, her killer drove down the driveway past the main house to where she was staying. My cousin was a missionary who traveled to dangerous places and was killed on a farm in south Fulton County, GA. Seeing your family photos on “Unsolved Mysteries” is never comforting, even when you know the episode is airing. Having been to victims groups and spoken with other murder family members, there are a few ways families feel about their killers. It is a great feeling when the person that you know killed your child/spouse/mother/father/partner etc has been convicted of that crime. It is healing to know that they will receive punishment. When a killer is sentenced to “life in prison” there is an amount of glad & sadness. Some people feel guilty wanting someone else to die. (I think I would struggle with this if given the choice) and some feel glad that their family member’s killer will die at the hands of the state. The thing about “life in prison” is that it often isn’t until the end of life. (See the Pan Am Flight 103 bomber & countless others).
    As a victim of a personal violent crime-I wish that the person that hurt me could have the death penalty. I will never recover from what happened. He gets to live and that cracks me. I know that I will most likely never see him again and I know that I have rights as a victim, but there are still times when I see someone on the streets and my breath stops. I’m terrified that I might encounter him again or that he might do what he did again. That is something that will never go away.

    As far as imprisoning a terrorist (or dictator), there is always the risk of their followers/worshippers trying to free them. (I think we’ve all watched enough bad movies to have seen this happen). Our government would rather see people killed directly as opposed to hostages that could be released contingent on freedom for a prisoner. With hostage situations it is much easier to blame the government, “they could have released bin Laden or Saddam and my relative/friend/innocent Americans/innocent non-Americans would not have been killed.” Think of the outrage that other countries would have when the American government didn’t “save” their citizens by releasing terrorists.

    Celebration- I think some of it has been grossly inappropriate. However, the man who launched two wars is dead. (I care not to argue whether or not George W. Bush made good choices, the fact is that the actions of Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001 gave enough reason/excuse for Afghanistan & subsequently Iraq-slippery slope of the Middle East). The wait has only grown our anticipation and our desire to see justice for those who died on September 11, 2001, every soldier in the region, and others. For Americans as a whole this is seeing our family member’s killer die.